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Eco in the Kitchen

Coloring cakes with a food Airbrush

A cake airbrush, yes, but which, and above all, how and why? Today I share with you some useful information on how to choose an airbrush. What should be avoided, as well as the options to not leave aside. With it you can decorate your cakes, desserts, confectionery, almond paste or biscuits etc etc etc…. Airbrushing facilitates decorating immensely and gets the job done quickly. Furthermore it allows the effects of gradients from the most delicate to the most striking contrasts.

So which model to choose?

Airbrushing can be a pleasant moment in the decoration of your dishes, chosen wisely. Of course, it only takes an airbrush that’s certified for food contact. We will not take risks with people’s health. A DIY or modelling airbrush is not an airbrush that’s up to food standards. The friends over at Verycozyhome have produced a really helpful tutorial on the top cake airbrush kits.

The gun:

Prefer a tank-bowl top gun that will be easy to handle and lightweight. Do not take a model with a jar reservoir which lies below and hinders the movement of the hand besides being heavy and awkward on the ‘pen ‘.

The compressor:

A mini compressor is more than enough for home use. If you have the room and the budget, it is not a problem to go bigger. But, if like me you have a normal-sized kitchen or smaller, it’s by no means a disadvantage. A small quality compressor will allow for 20 minutes of uninterrupted work before needing a break to cool down a bit. This is more than enough. Forget the huge and overpriced ultra pro compressors that cost a fortune and are made to run continuously in cake shops.

The setting:

No compromise, you must be able to vary the flow to play out the delicate nuances as well as strong contrasts. A dimmer that allows 3 spray strengths: low, medium and high will suit just fine.

Support for the gun: not necessary but really handy.

Hose: the hose is used to propel the air from the compressor to the pistol. The air blends with dye and comes out of the gun when the trigger gun is released. This control is often a button located behind the cup of the airbrush.

The bowl or tank: this is where to fill the dye.

Cleaning: while cleaning fluid can be useful, you don’t necessarily need it. You can use water to wash between each color but always use cleaning liquid at the end of a session, so no dye dries in the gun and the needle.

Dyes: color for your airbrush

A good kit will contain the primary colors (blue, yellow, red) and from there the palette is huge. A bottle will last very long.

However take care to close bottles after each use. You can also mix the dyes between them to get new shades.
There are also eco airbrush kits without the dyes, as well as dyes without the kits.

You can imagine how much I will use it, and I may even surprise you with some of my creations!

So… I’m often having my finger on the trigger. I hope this article was useful, informative, and not too boring

Dear Colleagues: As part of the budget planning process for Fiscal Year 2017, the NIDCR is identifying topical themes for development into research initiatives. During this process, we welcome input from our research and clinical practice communities, industry, interested organizations, and the public at large. To see the proposed research themes for FY 2017, as […]

NIDCR has published the following Funding Opportunity Announcement: RFA-DE-16-006 Oral HIVacc: Oral Mucosal Immunization Approaches for HIV Prevention (R01) NIDCR has other funding opportunities for research on HIV and related oral complications. For all research topics, please see NIDCR's active funding announcements.

Dear Colleagues:As part of the budget planning process for Fiscal Year 2017, the NIDCR is identifying topical themes for development into research initiatives. During this process, we welcome input from our research and clinical practice communities, industry, interested organizations, and the public at large. To see the proposed research themes for FY 2017, as well […]

Following the closure of the National Children’s Study, NIH is planning a new program to understand the influence of environmental exposures (e.g., physical, chemical, biological, psychosocial) on children’s health and development. This new program is called Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO). NIH will present webinars on the proposed ECHO program […]

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